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A review by theesotericcamel
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima
5.0
Very loosely based on the real events, this is a peek at the mind of the diseased Buddhist acolyte who burned down the Kinkakuji temple. Set during the final years of the Second World War, the protagonist of the story is called Mizoguchi and is a son of a buddhist priest. His father, suffering from a terminal illness, dies while Mizoguchi is still young. Mizoguchi is made an acolyte of the Kinkakuji temple, where the head priest is a friend of his father. Mizoguchi suffers from a stutter, and describes himself as ugly, and as a child he is constantly teased. But he takes refuge in his reverence of the Kinkakuji temple, which to him represents the epitome of beauty. But becoming disillusioned with the people around him and his holy surroundings, he comes to resent the temple which comes to symbolise and impossible and mocking ideal. And this eventually leads to his determination to burn it to the ground.
Mizoguchi is quintessentially neurotic, in the tradition of Dostoevsky's characters. And we see his inability to connect with those around him due to his sever inferiority complex. Knowing the biography of the author Yukio Mishima, I can't help but think that the author saw himself in the original true life arsonist of the Kinkakuji Temple. Mishima thought he could get into the mind of the arsonist and created his fictional version, Mizoguchi, to espouse his own musings on the nature of beauty and corruption. The story is set in the Buddhist temple district of the city of Kyoto, but we are shown it's seedy underbelly. One of Mizoguchi's closest friends, Kashiwagi, is constantly giving twisted yet brilliant interpretations of classic Buddhist parables. Mizoguchi also catches the Head Priest in the Geisha district. And he comes to realize that beauty is not necessarily the same as goodness. In fact, one could say that Mizoguchi becomes the enemy of beauty. At the same time, Mizoguchi seeks to elevate his social status by any means necessary. He wants people to remember him despite, or perhaps in spite of his inherent ugliness. I am certain that Mishima, the author, was projecting his own nihilistic thoughts and insecurities into the main character. And because of this, he was able to create a believable and even a sympathetic character despite his corrupted and bleak view of the world. It's a very introspective novel, and a deep character study of the protagonist/arsonist. Although I did not agree with the views of Mizoguchi, I did feel that I came to understand him by the end of the book.
Mizoguchi is quintessentially neurotic, in the tradition of Dostoevsky's characters. And we see his inability to connect with those around him due to his sever inferiority complex. Knowing the biography of the author Yukio Mishima, I can't help but think that the author saw himself in the original true life arsonist of the Kinkakuji Temple. Mishima thought he could get into the mind of the arsonist and created his fictional version, Mizoguchi, to espouse his own musings on the nature of beauty and corruption. The story is set in the Buddhist temple district of the city of Kyoto, but we are shown it's seedy underbelly. One of Mizoguchi's closest friends, Kashiwagi, is constantly giving twisted yet brilliant interpretations of classic Buddhist parables. Mizoguchi also catches the Head Priest in the Geisha district. And he comes to realize that beauty is not necessarily the same as goodness. In fact, one could say that Mizoguchi becomes the enemy of beauty. At the same time, Mizoguchi seeks to elevate his social status by any means necessary. He wants people to remember him despite, or perhaps in spite of his inherent ugliness. I am certain that Mishima, the author, was projecting his own nihilistic thoughts and insecurities into the main character. And because of this, he was able to create a believable and even a sympathetic character despite his corrupted and bleak view of the world. It's a very introspective novel, and a deep character study of the protagonist/arsonist. Although I did not agree with the views of Mizoguchi, I did feel that I came to understand him by the end of the book.